I have no idea what your budget is, but I will assume that you are trying to stay under $1500-2500 or so, and need an amplifier, phono preamp, and speakers.

I would suggest that you look at the Harman-Kardon 3490 stereo receiver, which has a built-in phono preamp and a very good power amplifier. It is a relative bargain at $420 from Amazon.

An alternative would be a NAD C326BEE amplifier ($550) and a Musical Fidelity V-LPS phono preamp ($200).

For speakers, I suggest that you consider the Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 speakers, which Music Direct has for $450/pair, or perhaps the PSB Image T6 speakers for $1300 per pair, if you want excellent full-range floorstanding speakers.

What would be the better option? The Harman Kardon steroo reciever or the combination of the NAD amp and the Muical Fidelity phono preamp? I dont mind spending a little extra if it means ill get a better sound quality.

Is there a great differenct between the Wharefedale speakers and the PSB ones? Are the PSBs worth the ectra $850?

I have not heard the Harman-Kardon Receiver, so can't compare sound quality between the two options, but one possible advantage to separate integrated amplifier + phono-preamp is flexibility to upgrade the phono or the amp separately if desired in the future, though a receiver with phono-preamp is a simpler one box solution.

BTW- The PSB being a larger speaker (tower) would hopefully have a better bass quality, though being that much more expensive, it may sound better all around as well. I have heard the PSB, but not in a direct comparison with the competition. Both of these speakers have sterling reputations, and without auditioning them, your decision should probably be based on how large and expensive you want to go. If I could swing it, I'd go with the PSB.

The Wharfdale speakers are pretty good speakers, and a very nice speaker for the price. You can't do much better for $450 a pair. Their bass will be limited by their size.

I had the PSB Image T6 speakers for two years, and never heard anything I didn't like. I am a very critical listener, and have $5000 Vandersteen speakers at my other house, so I think I am correct in saying that they are hard to beat for under $2000.

If they are within your budget, they are well worth their price.

The NAD/Musical Fidelity combination might sound a bit better, but the Harman-Kardon is not bad, has more power (not really an issue for those speakers), and gives you the AM/FM tuner. The NAD/MF would cost about $750, and the Musical Fidelity phono preamp IS really excellent.

I had a Harmon Kardon 3490 for a year and liked it very much. You get a lot for the price. However, just outside of warranty it quit working. I found this to be too common for others who owned newer HK's.

I went with NAD after that and figured PSB speakers would work well with them (owned by the same company and if you dont get to listen to them -as I did not- you have to base a lot on what other people say, and there are so many good threads out there with reference to PSB sound).

The only reason I went with bookshelf Image B6's is the room I am using really did not lend itself well to the placement of towers..and having pets..I wanted something off the ground. While the Image B6 lacks some lower end bass response, a subwoofer filled in the lower end nicely using one of the preamps on the NAD.

The clarity in the midrange is what I found most striking with the PSB/NAD setup. Great imaging, sound stage..nothing to complain about. Source material is paramount however, make sure you are using an up to date source CD player, turntable/preamp, etc. to get the most out of it. If I had my druthers, like others and the mag tout, go for an OPPO.. and report back on what you get/hear~!